By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-11-19 19:32:02 | Updated at 2024-11-23 08:19:21
3 days ago
CV NEWS FEED // Seventeen people were arrested on Saturday after pro-abortion counter-protesters aggressively blocked and harassed participants in the Men’s March to Abolish Abortion in Boston.
The November 16 march, which started outside Planned Parenthood and concluded at Boston Common, was organized to advocate for the protection of unborn children. The event attracted almost 500 participants, according to the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP).
Steven Rust, a resident of West Brookfield, Massachusetts, who attended the march, told CatholicVote that the counter-protesters disrupted the event by shouting and playing instruments. They also stole the bullhorn being used to lead the men in praying the Rosary.
The pro-abortion crowd seized the marchers’ signs and hurled water balloons, bottles, and other objects at the pro-life group, which included boys as young as 8 years old. The pro-abortion advocates maintained a stream of abusive remarks throughout the event.
“There was constant vile, hateful, abusive speech directed at [us],” Rust said.
The counter-protesters, some dressed as clowns and carrying signs with offensive and explicit messages, intercepted the permitted march in Kenmore Square, blocking its route to the Boston Common for almost an hour, according to TFP.
Police were called to the scene, and arrests followed when the crowd refused to disperse, Boston.com news reported. According to the police report, the counter-protesters’ actions had escalated to assaultive behavior, furthering the disorder.
The 17 individuals arrested, aged 18 to 52 and from Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont, were charged with disorderly conduct, unlawful assembly, or both.
The Men’s March was the first large-scale pro-life demonstration in Boston since President Donald Trump was elected for a second term. According to Rust, counter-protests in previous years were far less aggressive and abusive.
Most of those arrested were offered a deal to have charges dropped in exchange for 40 hours of community service, Boston.com reported. One individual arrested at the march, Riley Dowell, daughter of Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), was charged with assaulting an officer during a 2023 rally and did not receive the community service offer. Dowell was arraigned on November 18 on charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with lawful assembly, Boston local news reported.
